The present invention relates to truck bed mils and more particularly to an improved design for protective rails offered in the aftermarket for installation on the beds of pick-up trucks. Applicant's track bed rail system can be readily modified to meet various needs of the truck owner and is less expensive to manufacture, install and maintain than known truck bed rails.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that side railings for the beds of pick-up trucks have been available for a number of years. However, existing bed rail devices are typically expensive to purchase and expensive to install. Existing products of this type are generally decorative in that they are constructed of polished chrome or similar material and are designed to enhance the appearance of the truck. While such systems are useful, when they are installed on working trucks, they are easily damaged and their appearance marred.
Typically truck bed rails are affixed to the tops of the rear side panels of the truck bed, which extend from the cab to the tailgate. Such rails are often made of chrome and are permanently attached to the truck's side panels. The purpose of existing bed rails is both aesthetic, to enhance the truck's appearance, and functional, to provide a means of securing loose cargo placed in the bed of the truck or tarpaulins covering said truck bed.
While existing bed rails do provide a way to tie down tarpaulins and loose cargo, their usefulness is limited. Because, by design, these truck bed rails are fixed and permanent, they cannot easily be modified to accommodate different needs. Also their expense can be prohibitive. A truck bed rail device that is inexpensive, flexible and easily modified is presently unavailable.